Protest disrupts water meter installation in Dublin

Update 2pm: Work on installation of the meters has resumed.

Irish Water workers installing meters in County Dublin have had to temporarily down tools over a protest.

The workers in Littlepace in West Dublin had to stop the installation on health and safety grounds while around twenty people protested in a demonstration organised by the Socialist Party.

Local TD, Joe Higgins was among the assembled protestors.

"It's insane that the Government has construction crews digging up pavements all over this country to put in water meters to charge people , and the capital city is now in a crisis situation because, obviously, that investment should be going into increasing the supply," he said.

"We're creating an awful lot of jobs for construction workers," said Irish Water spokesperson Padraig Slyne. "They don't really understand why they'd be protested when they're just at their place of work."